An electoral candidate who won a place on a city council in Iran has reportedly been barred from taking up the seat because she is too attractive. During the polls in the city of Qazvin, 27-year-old Nina Siahkali Moradi received 10,000 votes, placing her 14th out of 163 candidates . She was named as an “alternate member of the Council” — in effect, the first reserve.

But when one of those ranked above her was selected as mayor and gave up his seat, Moradi was disqualified and prevented from filling the vacancy. A senior official in Qazvin was quoted in the Times to have explained the decision by saying: “We don’t want a catwalk model on the council.” Moradi is a graduate student of architecture, and with the help of friends ran a visually impressive and high profile election campaign . The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said that the disqualification was apparently because of her “nonobservance of Islamic codes” , and reported suggestions that her election campaign posters were the basis for complaints from conservative rivals.

“Almost 10,000 people voted for me and based on that I should be the first alternate member of the City Council,” Moradi told local media. The electoral review board, comprised of elder conservatives, disagreed. Seyed Reza Hossaini, Qazvin’s representative in Parliament and a review board member, told the news agency IranWire: “Her votes have been nullified due to her disqualification, as the review board didn’t approve her credentials. We have told her the reason for her disqualification .”